Caesar Salad Beef Carpaccio

Too often, many fine dining restaurants have been charging outrageous prices for relatively simple meals. For this week’s recipe, I’m striving to show home cooks how easy it is to prepare Michelin-star dishes without leaving the house.

There is no dish more luxurious than a steakhouse-style beef carpaccio. Even though raw beef can be intimidating to some, if you use high-quality beef tenderloin, you can experience a fine-dining classic within minutes at home.

Traditionally, beef carpaccio is pounded very thinly and topped with anchovies, garlic aioli, and shreds of Parmesan cheese. Since all of these ingredients are the main components of a classic Caesar salad, we are simplifying the process here to combine them into an emulsion to top the beef.

To prevent foodborne illness, I highly recommend using the highest-quality beef available for this recipe. For people in Churchill County, Momma’s Meat Company serves some of the highest quality beef available. 

By using a tortilla press, we will easily press the beef until it is paper-thin for a perfect date night appetizer. Once the beef is pressed, dress it with the homemade Caesar dressing, capers, fresh tomatoes, lemon juice, and flaky salt. 

Not only is this dish stunning in terms of presentation, but it’s also absolutely delicious.

I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

•  6 oz of high-quality filet mignon
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 oil-packed anchovies
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup arugula
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 oz cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 2 tablespoons capers
• Flake salt to taste

Directions:

1. Make the Caesar dressing. Combine garlic clove, anchovies, parmesan, kosher salt, black pepper, and lemon juice, and egg yolk in a food processor. Pulse until incorporated.
2. While running the food processor, stream vegetable oil into the machine until the Caesar is well emulsified. Mix 1-2 tablespoons of water into the mixture until it is thin enough to move to a squeeze bottle.
3. Transfer Caesar dressing to a squeeze bottle.
4. Toss arugula with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt to taste. Set aside.
5. While cold, slice thick pieces of the filet with the grain. Using a tortilla press and two pieces of parchment paper, press the sliced filet slices until paper thin.
6. Remove the filet slices and transfer to the serving plate. Gradually layer capers on top of the beef. Place cut cherry tomatoes over the beef mixture.
7. Using a squeeze bottle drizzle some of the Caesar dressing on top of the beef.
8. Top beef with dressed arugula and sprinkle with flaky salt to taste.